Anticipatory Nostalgia: Missing The Present

When we speak of nostalgia we think of that feeling of melancholy for some past event. However, there are times when we miss just the moment we are living. We even experience a sense of nostalgia for something that hasn’t happened yet. The name given to this feeling is anticipatory nostalgia.

This concept has generated great interest and, at the moment, its functions and the emotional benefits of feeling this longing for something that has not yet happened are being studied. Next, we bring you the main findings and conclusions about this complex feeling.

Nostalgia

Our memories are associated with emotions and, because we are human, we have the ability to intentionally retrieve them. We can mentally travel to relive what touched us. Thus, nostalgia refers to that wanting to relive the past, to return to a moment or circumstances that are no longer there.

This complex emotion implies the ability to consciously recall an important event on a personal level. In addition, in its complexity is its ambivalent character, it is not a positive or negative emotion. Rather, it includes both joy and sadness. You could say that it is a bittersweet emotion.

What the experts are clearer is that, despite being an ambivalent emotion and causing a kind of sadness, its effects are beneficial for psychological well-being. And it is that nostalgia helps us to define ourselves, to reaffirm our feelings, to increase the meaning we give to our lives and to protect ourselves from discomfort.

When we feel alone we tend to recall situations or experiences with people we love. This could be a natural mechanism to overcome the perception of loneliness. Here, nostalgia helps to increase the feeling of belonging and social connection with others, better coping with the psychological state.

In addition, some studies have shown that remembering past moments helps us look to the future with a touch of optimism.

Anticipatory or anticipatory nostalgia

So what happens when parents feel nostalgic at the thought of their grown-up children? And when you imagine yourself 20 years from now and you have the certainty that you will miss your current life? And when you finish studying and you know that there will come a time when, at least for a few moments, you will want to embrace that time again?

Experts differentiate between anticipatory nostalgia and anticipatory nostalgia. The first refers to knowing that you are going to feel nostalgic about something when you look back. That is, to be aware that you will experience nostalgia in the future. Generally, knowing that there is going to be a negative emotion in the future leads people to try to prevent it, as can happen with guilt. However, nostalgia acts as a positive emotion and does not lead to such attempts.

On the other hand, anticipatory nostalgia refers to missing aspects of the present before they are lost in the future. Or put another way, to experience the loss before it occurs. In this sense, nostalgia is experienced in the moment, but based on a projection into the future, as is sometimes the case with fear.

What feelings are associated?

Although more research is needed on this emotion, some emotional aspects have been found that characterize people who show more anticipatory nostalgia. As well as what events are those that cause this longing for future or present events that have not yet been lost.

Apparently, the aspects that cause us all kinds of nostalgia coincide. They are events that involve important life events. Especially those related to personal relationships, achievements and the goals we achieve.

These memories and projections of the future produce excitement, optimism, and curiosity. In addition, they are related to a feeling of gratitude for what one already has and even to the anger that can be derived from a loss. But above all, when we know that something will make us nostalgic, we feel inspired and motivated to savor the experiences while they are unfolding.

For its part, missing something that we are currently experiencing is related to the tendency to sadness. Thus, while nostalgia is beneficial, experiencing it prematurely can interfere with the ability to enjoy the moment. These findings do not refer to the fact that the people who feel it are not satisfied with what they live. What happens is that they feel more connected and, therefore, a greater inability to renounce the present.

What to learn from these findings

Sometimes we go through the events or experiences of our life in a superficial way and, when we least think about it, everything has already happened and we cannot go back there. Therefore, being aware that that moment will be the protagonist of a memory in the future, and knowing that we will like to relive it even for a moment, can help us enjoy the present more.

So the next time you meet friends, get big news, or finish an important project, savor it. Get out of yourself for a moment to fully grasp the essence of all that. Your current experiences will be the memories of the future. Live them one hundred percent and in the best way you know, since nothing lasts forever.